1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system storage devices, and more particularly to an information handling system swappable boot storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems process information with a variety of processing components disposed in a housing. For example, a central processing unit (CPU) executes instructions stored in random access memory (RAM) to perform functions. Generally, an operating system running on the CPU coordinates the use of processing components by applications running over the operating system. For instance, the WINDOWs operating system supports execution of a multimedia application, which retrieves multimedia content from an optical disc drive and presents the multimedia content through a graphics and audio subsystem at a display and speakers. Portable information handling systems include in portable housing components sufficient to support execution of applications free from any fixed resources or peripherals. For example, portable information handling systems integrate a battery and display in the housing to power the processing components free from an external power source and to present information as visual images free from a peripheral display. The convenience of portable information handling systems has made portable systems an accepted alternative to fixed desktop systems among both enterprise and individual end users.
In order to transition from an off state to an operational state, information handling systems generally perform a boot operation. The boot initiates with firmware instructions stored in non-volatile memory of the information handling system, such as flash memory within a chipset. Boot instructions, often code within firmware that is referred to as the BIOS, power up the CPU and direct retrieval of the operating system from a non-volatile storage device, such as a hard disk drive or solid state drive, to the RAM for execution by the CPU. The non-volatile storage device also typically stores applications that run over the operating system, such as word processing or multi-media applications, and end user information, such as documents and multimedia content. Two physically identical information handling systems having exactly the same processing components can have entirely different functionality based upon the operating system, applications, device drivers and content stored on the hard disk drive of each system.
At manufacture of an information handling system, an “image” of the hard disk drive is usually copied to the hard disk drive with the operating system and applications purchased or licensed to an end user of the information handling system. Often, enterprises will purchase a number of identical information handling systems for use by employees, each information handling system having an enterprise image, which is individualized for intended end users at delivery of the systems to the enterprise. By controlling the image, enterprises control the operating system and applications initially available to the end user. If a hard disk drive fails in an information handling system, information technology administrators can repair the information handling system by removing and replacing the hard disk drive with another hard disk drive having a similar image. Generally, this repair is performed by an information technology professional since the hard disk drive is usually built into the housing with permanent attachment devices, such as screws, and the BIOS of the information handling system must typically be updated to interact with a new hard disk drive by loading appropriate drivers to the chipset.